Every Story Starts Somewhere
by Sadye Jean
Summary: What starts as a simple meet-and-greet for Barney's teenage daughter and his crew turns into much, much more.
1. Chapter 1

_****__Note to readers: This is my first online publishing of a story. I'm still writing it as we speak, so believe me when I say there is action to come! Hope you all enjoy it!_

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_Los Angeles_

"Mom! What are you doing? We're going to be late." Nikki hollered across the house, rolling her eyes when she got no response again. "Seriously, Mom. It's not every day that I get to see him. I don't want to be late." She put the last item in her suitcase and walked out of the room.

"You know, just because he calls out of the blue, doesn't mean you have to go see him. He could make more of an effort to be around." Beth was sitting on the couch, silently refusing to move.

"Mom. Let's get going. I want to see him. And before you say it. Yes, I know he only shows up once in a blue moon. But I still want to see him." A hand on her hip, Nikki dangled car keys and waited impatiently for her mother to get off the couch. "Please. Let's go."

Heaving a great sigh, Beth stood up and walked towards Nikki. "Okay. Let's get this over with then."

_Los Angeles Airport_

"Got your phone?" Beth looked somewhat frantic, trying to mentally tick off all the necessary items before Nikki boarded the plane. "Toothbrush? What about your phone charger? Oh, and socks. Did you pack socks?"

Laughing, Nikki hugged her mom. "Yes, I remembered all of those. I'm going to miss my flight if I don't leave now. I love you, I'll miss you, and I'll be back in a few days." Sparing one moment to smile reassuringly at her mother, she turned and hurried off towards her departure gate.

_Chicago Airport_

"Hey Dad. It's Nikki. Just calling - again - to remind you that I'm here. At the airport. Right now. Hopefully you're on your way or something." She sighed and clicked the call off. She'd been standing outside the airport for almost two hours at this point and still hadn't heard from her father. _'Why are you surprised he's not here? Not like this would be the first time it happened or anything,' _she thought to herself. Nikki looked around, spotted a taxi stand and decided she was tired of waiting. Grabbing her suitcase, she made her way to the stand. _'I think I remember the name of the shop he used to hang out at. Tool's, right? Yeah, that was it.'_ So that's where she went.


	2. Chapter 2

_Tool's_

The cab came to a stop not far from the front door of Tool's and it didn't surprise Nikki to see her father's truck parked outside. She paid the cabbie, grabbed her suitcase and went inside. It took a few minutes of her standing in the doorway for anyone to even notice she was there. There was a handful of rather gruff looking men in the room, all laughing and having a good time. They seemed to be celebrating. Finally, a younger guy spotted her and spoke up.

"You lost, lady?" The tall man said to her.

With every head in the room turning to face the mystery 'lady,' it was Barney who spoke up next. "Shit. Nikki. That was today." He stood up and crossed the room. "I'm sorry, pumpkin. We just got back from a job."

Nikki took a step away from her father, a very angry look on her face. "You know, you're the one who called me. You're the one who invited me out here. If you didn't really want to see me, why bother?" She turned on the spot and left the building.

Barney followed her out, trying to defuse the situation. "Nikki, I'm sorry. I do want to see you. I've got some time off now and I thought it'd be good to, you know, hang out. We could go sight-seeing, get some pizza, have a good time." He knew he wasn't always the best father, that he wasn't around enough. Having her out here right now was important to him though, and he didn't want to blow it completely. "I'm going to grab my things and then we can go get something for dinner. What do you think about that?"

Nikki hadn't turned around but she had stopped walking. She was annoyed with her dad, but she really did want to see him. It had been a long time since he asked to spend any time with him. She was shuffling her feet a bit and scowling down at the ground, still trying to decide if she should forgive him. A moment passed in silence, Barney patiently waiting for her response. At last she turned around, crossed her arms, and said, "Fine. But if you bail on me for work even for a minute while I'm here, I'm not coming back."

That was good enough for Barney, "Deal." He walked over, grabbed her suitcase and tossed it in the back of his truck. "I'll be right back then." He went back inside Tool's to get his things.

"Pumpkin?" It was Christmas who inquired first. Everyone was wondering who the girl was, it was just a matter of who would get the question out first. "Don't you think she's a little young for you, Barney?" Everyone chuckled a bit.

"You're a funny guy, Christmas." Barney replied dryly, while picking up his jacket. "That's my daughter."

"And you forgot to pick her up? That's messed up," said Caesar. "Hope that girl rings a shopping spree out of you as penance." The whole thing was meant in jest, but Barney knew Caesar was right about him forgetting her.

"Keep joking, fellas. You'll see what happens," Barney retorted as he was leaving the building.


	3. Chapter 3

_Barney's_

The whole drive out to Barney's house was silent. Nikki was still angry with him, and he wasn't about to let himself off the hook either. On the way into the house, he was making a list of the various things he could take her to see in Chicago - the aquarium, the stadium - and that's where his list ended. He really had no idea what to do with Nikki, he just knew he wanted to spend time with her. '_Too many near death experiences lately, Barney. Get some time with her before you don't have any time left,_' he thought to himself. "What do you want to get for dinner, Nik?"

She just kept walking, looking at some of the new items her dad had brought into his house. There was something that caught her eye, a drawing of a woman's face. "When did you get that, Dad?"

"Oh, that was from a couple years ago." Barney said, remembering Vilena and everything that happened there for just a moment. "It stuck with me."

"It's nice." She nodded in agreement. "We could just get some pizza if you want," she spoke finally answering her father's question. "Or Chinese maybe. I don't have a preference really, both sound good."

"Alright. Let's get some pizza. I know a great place. Want to get your things set up in your room first or something?"

"Sure, and I should call Mom to let her know I'm here." Nikki grabbed her suitcase and headed up the stairs. She knew exactly which room was hers even though it had been a few years. Very little else had changed in her father's house apart from a few decorations. Truthfully, it always seemed like no one lived there when she wasn't around.

_Dmitri's Pizza Shop_

"Then she started yelling at the top of her lungs for someone to kill the spider. It was seriously one of the funniest things I've ever seen Mom do." Nikki was laughing while telling the story. It was good to laugh with her dad again. She loved how happy he got around her. It was almost as if he was experiencing her for the first time every time they got together. She often wondered if it had something to do with the work he did. Whatever that was. '_Maybe this visit will be the time he tells you,'_ she thought.

"So I was thinking we could go back to Tool's and I could introduce you to the guys. They're all nice guys, been working with them for a lot of years. I think you'd like them. Except maybe Gunnar. He's a little different." He was hesitant to take this step, but knew that she was old enough to know what he did. Knowing these men would also help her in the long-run, especially if something ever happened to him. They'd look after her, keep her safe. "If you want, I mean. Up to you."

She stared at him for a moment, half wondering if he had heard her thinking about that and half curious as to why he was wanting to introduce her to his work friends. Something niggled at her brain, told her there was something wrong. She ignored it, or at least pushed it to the background. "I'd love that, Dad," she said at last, then grabbed another piece of pizza and launched into yet another 'crazy Mom' story.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note: I'll be updating this more tonight and tomorrow - and I have two more chapters ready to go!_**

_Tool's_

After more than an hour of pizza and storytelling, they made their way back to Tool's. Nikki was pretty excited about meeting her father's work friends, but she was doing her best to keep it under wraps. After all, it wasn't every day that this opportunity came around.

Barney felt nervous about introducing his daughter to his crew. They were all good guys, but on the surface they could come off a bit rough, to say the least. He knew that ultimately it was a good idea though. He wasn't getting any younger and the jobs were definitely taking their toll on him. _'Just do it, Barney,'_ he thought, _'You'll be glad you did when they're looking after her somewhere down the road.'_ "Like I said before, they're nice guys. A little rough around the edges, but nice just the same." He walked ahead of Nikki, and was greeted by a raucous round of "hello's" when the guys saw him come in. They were all being nonchalant about it, but every one of them had noticed the girl behind him and were just waiting for Barney to start the introductions. It was a moment before anyone even spoke beyond their first greetings. Barney seemed anxious, and they all noticed it.

Nikki spoke up first. "Hello!" She tried to seem genuinely calm, even if she was very excited about this whole thing. "I'm Nikki."

"My daughter," came Barney's voice, the nerves settling a bit like they always do when it's time to get down to business. "She's visiting, in from Los Angeles." He started pointing different people out to Nikki, "That's Yin Yang. Toll Road," turning to Nikki, he added with a chuckle, "Try not to stare at the ears. He's very sensitive."

"Real funny, man," came Toll Road's reply."

"Gunnar Jensen. Hale Caesar. Lee Christmas, and that's Tool." Barney seemed nervous, which was making his team nervous. It was unlike their boss to be nervous. They knew he wouldn't have introduced his daughter unless there was a very good reason. All they had to do was figure it out.

"We were, uh, thinking of hitting some sights around town tomorrow," Barney said, breaking the silence. "Any suggestions?"

"I took my son to Shedd Aquarium a few years back. He loved it," came Gunnar's voice from the corner of the room, followed immediately by looks of surprise in his direction.

Nikki smiled, "I'd love to visit the aquarium. We've talked about going before but something always happens and we end up out of time."

As if her words came out as a challenge to the universe, Tool's phone rang in the background and he disappeared to answer the call.

"We'll go first thing tomorrow then," Barney replied. "Should check out the Pier, too." He nodded , mostly to reassure himself that this outing with Nikki would be good for him. "Maybe even take a cruise around the lake."

Her eyes lit up and Nikki found herself laughing a little. "A cruise would be so fun, Dad!" She was getting excited about tomorrow. There would be so many opportunities to talk to her father, and she was determined to figure out more about him.

"On another note," said Caesar, "I don't think I knew you had a son, Gunnar." Most of the guys nodded in agreement. "But then again, it would seem many of us don't know much about each other's families." This last sentence was obviously directed at Barney, and Nikki found herself a bit hurt.

"Wait - you all didn't know he had a daughter?" The words came out calmly, but Nikki could feel her face getting hot. The people who her father had left her behind for on many occasions didn't even know she existed. In her mind that meant she wasn't worth mentioning to them, and that stung far more than it probably should have. She looked to Barney for an answer.

He could see the pain in his daughter's eyes and knew that her heart was broken - and it was his fault. He needed to fix this. He knew that blaming it on work wouldn't undo the damage, but it was his best option. "We don't talk much about our lives outside of the group, Nik." As he spoke Barney took a few steps toward Nikki, but that just caused her to move backwards. He sighed and stopped walking. "When we're working, we focus on the job 100 percent. In our line of work, we can't afford to let anything distract us." Judging from the way the muscle in Nikki's jaw was working, Barney knew he was right about the effect using work as an excuse would have on his daughter, and he knew it wasn't a good direction to have taken the conversation. But it was the only reason he could come up with.

Only - if he had known what Tool was about to say when he came back in the room, Barney wouldn't have even said anything at all. Nikki's disappointment was going to get much, much worse.


End file.
